President Donald Trump granted pardons or commutations to 30 people Thursday, extending clemency to a group that included individuals convicted of drug, bribery and firearms offenses, according to a report confirmed by the White House and representatives of several recipients.
Among those granted clemency was Holly Leanne Frantzen, who had spent more than a decade behind bars after receiving a sentence of nearly 17 years on drug-related charges.
The White House did not disclose whether Frantzen’s clemency came in the form of a full pardon or a commutation of her remaining sentence.
In a clemency request published by a prisoners’ rights organization, Frantzen discussed her previous struggles with drug addiction and said that while incarcerated she had been working toward completing an apprenticeship in plumbing.
Alice Marie Johnson, who serves as the White House pardon czar, singled out Frantzen while announcing the latest round of clemency grants. White House records list Johnson as serving in the pardon czar position.
“My prayer is that each of these 30 people makes the most of this extraordinary second chance and becomes a greater blessing to their families, communities and the world,” Johnson said in a social media post.
Trump also issued a pardon to Emory Clash Jones, who spent more than 10 years in federal prison following his conviction in a case involving the distribution of crack cocaine.
Jones, a longtime associate of rapper Jay-Z, whose legal name is Shawn Carter, was released from prison in 2010, according to federal Bureau of Prisons records cited in the report.
Following his release, Jones went on to become an executive at Roc Nation, the entertainment company established by Carter.
Carter had intervened on Jones’ behalf years earlier. In 2009, he sent a letter to the judge handling Jones’ case asking that Jones be released and pointing to his intelligence, ability to work with people and strong work ethic.
Neither Jones nor Roc Nation responded to requests for comment about the pardon.
Another prominent recipient was John Dougherty, the longtime leader of Philadelphia’s International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98.
Dougherty, widely known as “Johnny Doc,” headed the influential union for nearly 30 years before stepping down in 2021 following his conviction for bribing a member of the Philadelphia City Council.
Trump commuted what remained of Dougherty’s six-year federal prison sentence. Dougherty had served less than two years when the commutation was issued.
A White House official said the decision would enable Dougherty to return home and care for his terminally ill wife.
George Bochetto, Dougherty’s attorney, confirmed that his client had been released from federal custody and was heading back to Philadelphia to be with his wife.
Trump also pardoned Patrick Adamiak, a former U.S. Navy sailor who was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in 2023 after being convicted of possessing and selling illegal machine guns and possessing unregistered destructive devices.
Gun-rights advocates had taken up Adamiak’s case, arguing that his prosecution involved unclear federal regulations and alleging that a confidential informant had improperly targeted him.
Adam Kraut, executive director of the Second Amendment Foundation, said the organization welcomed Trump’s decision to pardon Adamiak.
The latest actions represent another use of the president’s constitutional clemency authority during his second term, with the 30 recipients receiving either pardons or sentence commutations.
The two forms of presidential clemency have different legal effects.
A pardon provides forgiveness for a federal offense and can eliminate some of the continuing legal consequences associated with a conviction. A commutation, by contrast, shortens or eliminates the punishment imposed on an individual while leaving the underlying federal conviction intact.
{Matzav.com}
